10 things you need to know today

Revelers during Songkran
Festival celebrations in Bangkok on Monday.Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha

Here is what you need to know.

Greece is preparing default options. An
FT report says: "Greece is preparing to take the dramatic
step of declaring a debt default unless it can reach a deal with
its international creditors by the end of April, according to
people briefed on the radical leftist government’s thinking." The
report continues: "The government, which is rapidly running out
of funds to pay public sector salaries and state pensions, has
decided to withhold €2.5bn of payments due to the International
Monetary Fund in May and June if no agreement is struck, they
said." Greece's three-year yield is higher by 81 basis points at
21.75%.

European government interest rates are at all-time
lows. Germany's 10-year yield hit 0.133%, and France's
10-year yield fell to 0.406% as money moved into the safety of
core European debt. The German yield curve has negative yields
out to eight years, while the France yield curve is below zero
out to five years.

JPMorgan Chase earnings topped estimates. The
investment bank announced adjusted earnings of $1.61 per
share, outpacing the $1.41 that was expected by analysts.
Revenues also beat, coming in at $24.8 billion, versus the $24.5
billion that was anticipated. The company said it expected to
raise its dividend by 10% in the second quarter.

China's new loans jumped. Bank loans in China
rose to 1.18 trillion yuan ($189.87 billion) in March, outpacing
the 1.03 trillion yuan that was expected.
The increase in lending activities comes as the People's Bank
of China attempts to jumpstart a slowing Chinese economy. China's
yuan rose 0.1% to 6.2117 per dollar.

Great Britain has no inflation. Britain's
Consumer Price Index held at 0.0% year-over-year, as expected.
The BBC
notes: "The figure was the lowest rate of Consumer Prices
Index (CPI) inflation since estimates of the measure began in the
late 1980s." Inflation remains well below the Bank of England's
2% target. The British pound is down 0.2% at 1.4650.

BlackRock is raising money in euros. The company
has decided to follow the likes of Berkshire Hathaway and
Coca-Cola, among others, in offering euro-denominated debt to
take advantage of the ultra-low borrowing costs in Europe.
According to Bloomberg: "Average yields on investment-grade
bonds in the single currency are at a five-week low of 0.87%" and
hold just above the record-low 0.85% set March 10.

Amazon and HarperCollins have reached a publishing
agreement. The multiyear deal covers both print and
digital copies and
allows HarperCollins to set prices. The publisher would
receive incentives for keeping prices low. Financial terms were
not disclosed.

Toyota is building an auto plant in Mexico. The
plant will be built in Guanajuato and
cost an estimated $1 billion. According to Reuters, it will
produce 200,000 cars per year and employ about 2,400 workers.

US economic data is moderate. Producer Price
Index and retail sales are due out at 8:30 a.m. ET, while
business inventories will be released at 10 a.m. ET. The US
10-year yield is lower by 2 basis points at 1.91%.